


Reunion

by adamstanheightswhiteshirt



Category: Saw (Movies)
Genre: Adam Faulkner-Stanheight Lives, Blood and Gore, Gen, Gore, Horror, M/M, Movie: Saw (2004), Post-Bathroom Trap (Saw), Psychological Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27429220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamstanheightswhiteshirt/pseuds/adamstanheightswhiteshirt
Summary: This is my interpretation as to what would happen if Lawrence came back for Adam and helped him out of the Bathroom. This piece is also based upon a drawing that can be found on Twitter, and all characters belong to James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Twisted Pictures, and Lionsgate.
Relationships: Adam Faulkner-Stanheight & Lawrence Gordon, Adam Faulkner-Stanheight/Lawrence Gordon
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	1. Alone in the Dark

Darkness; the scent of rotting flesh; the metallic taste of blood against the tongue; a suffocating silence. All of these things plagued the mind of Adam Faulker-Stanheight as he sat in that dark, musty bathroom the body of a man - an innocent man - resting beside him, the skull caved in and the scent of blood mixed with rotting flesh wafted around the room, though Adam’s nose had grown used to the stench already.  
Ever since the clock had stopped at 6PM, time had been lost on the brunet, plunging him into a sort of limbo where he no longer cared about the time or how long he’d been locked in this room. The chilling, high pitched voice of the man known as Jigsaw still echoed in his mind; reminding him that he had failed his stupid game and was now paying the price for it. Adam still felt a little sick at the realisation that this sick fuck had been in the room with them the entire time, but more than anything he felt upset that the key to his chain, the key to his freedom, was now coursing through the pipes of the room, gone forever.  
The lack of time almost meant Adam had no idea as to how long Lawrence had been gone. The phone that the doctor had left behind had continued to ring off and on a couple of times before it drained its battery and died, cutting off any hope of rescue Adam felt (not that he’d be able to reach the phone anyway). Everything was resting on the hope that Lawrence would indeed come back for him, that he’d walk through that door with help and get Adam out of here, preferably not in a body bag.  
The gunshot wound in his arm had swelled up to an alarming size, but the bleeding had finally ceased, as had feeling in the arm which meant he likely had an infection or the nerves were fucked. He was too scared to try and touch it, and he obviously couldn’t see it, but he knew his arm was in bad shape; bashing a man’s skull in with a toilet lid after being shot in the arm probably wasn’t the smartest idea but it got Lawrence his freedom, and maybe that meant it got Adam his own.  
"I’ll come back for you; I promise." Words were already a powerful thing, but when you attach a life to them, they become even more powerful. Lawrence had he wouldn’t lie to Adam, and technically speaking the man had spoken the truth; not once had the other lied to him during their time in the bathroom. Adam had been the one that had lied, repeatedly mind you, so deep down he wasn’t really surprised that he was still stuck here. Another part of him was absolutely petrified that Lawrence wouldn’t come back at all; that he’d leave him in this bathroom to wither and rot, his life of only 25 years snuffed out.  
Before waking up in this shit hole, Adam had rather big goals; goals that were so big, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to reach them. Despite having a job as a photographer, what Adam had really wanted to do was become a vet, as he’d always had a soft spot for animals. Back at his apartment, he’d befriended a stray cat that often wandered around his hall, giving him milk or a piece of chicken here and there. The cat, which he’d named Zeppelin, didn’t care that his apartment was shitty or that he sometimes didn’t have enough money to eat for a few days; Zeppelin was the least judgemental thing Adam would often come into contact with, and that’s why he enjoyed the animal’s company so much. The determination and want was there, but the grades… that was where Adam fell short; he was terrible in school and ended up dropping out.  
Maybe once he got out, he could look into trying to get his GED, even possibly taking college courses online if he saved up enough money.. Though his parents would likely want to help, seeing their son get his shit together would definitely make them happier. Thinking of his parents made a deep pain pierce through his heart; his mind flicking back to the voicemail that his mother had left on his phone, informing him of his father’s condition and begging him to call. He’d made a note to himself to call them as soon as he was done with the photos, but then that fucking pig had knocked him out and then he woke up here. He found himself wondering if they’d noticed something was wrong and were trying to find him, but he highly doubted it. Radio silence from Adam was a common thing, seeing as he didn’t have many friends and was generally an ass to most of them.  
Despite Adam’s thoughts being alert and sharp, his body was starting to shut down, exhausted from the strain of being electrocuted and the loss of blood beginning to slightly mess with him. He was currently still laying across Zep’s body, using it as a sort of twisted version of a pillow - hence how he’d gotten used to the smell of decay. Taking a deep breath, Adam forces himself to roll onto his good side, finding that that simple action took a lot out of him. He just needed to sleep; he’d feel better whenever he woke up. He hadn’t lost enough blood to bleed out, nor did he have any other injuries beside the gunshot wound, so a nap wouldn’t hurt. As soon as he’d stopped moving, Adam’s body began to slow down and relax, allowing the disgusting, bloody man to slow his breathing, his eyes slowly slipping shut. As his mind steered him towards the waters of sleep, he pictured himself back at his apartment with Zeppelin, watching MTV and eating some mint chocolate chip ice cream, momentarily pulling him from reality and sending him off to this dream world as he lets sleep take him.


	2. Cannibalistic Tendencies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a gruesome chapter, as it involves cannibalism, so please read with caution!

_ “Lawrence! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave!” Adam begs, his voice cracking as tears stream down his face; bloodied fingers curl into the white fabric of Lawrence’s shirt, his arm feeling like a nail was being hammered into it. Pure fear circulated throughout Adam’s system, his heart leaping into his throat and pounding there as panic bubbles in his chest. The man he clutched was gravely pale, bleeding out rather rapidly from the numb on his leg where his foot had been, sweat coating his skin and beading up around his temples; he had to get out of here or he’d die. “I have.. To go get… help. I’ll bring someone back for you, I promise.” The blond haired man mutters, giving Adam’s good arm a reassuring squeeze despite the trembling from his muscles. Adam crumbles even further, a frightened, pained sob ripping from his chest as he tightens his grip on Lawrence’s shirt, shaking his head. “No.. No, please. Don’t leave!” But Lawrence was already crawling across the floor, leaving Adam still tethered to the pipe, unable to do anything except watch as Lawrence Gordon crawled out of the room and towards freedom. _

The sound of the pipes groaning stirred Adam from his sleep with a jolt, his eyes opening though it didn’t really make any difference seeing as it was pitch black in the room. He lifts his good arm and rubs his eyes, removing the crusty bits that had formed over the course of his slumber and to help wake him up further, still laying against Zep’s corpse. The injured male sits up, shifting so that he was leaning back against the wall, still seated on the dirty, disgusting looking floor with his knees pulled up to his chest.

Due to the knowledge of time being pretty much hidden from view, Adam had no idea how long he’d been locked up in this room, but what he did know was that he was hungry; ravenous, in fact. He hadn’t eaten anything since the night he’d been captured, so it wasn’t a surprise that his body was pleading with him to eat. The problem was that he’s stuck in this prehistoric bathroom with nothing but a dead body and a severed foot to keep him company. 

He didn’t want to think about what he could do, about what he could resort to if he chose to. There was no way in hell he would eat Zep’s body.. He knew that cannibalism was a very real thing, and he also knew it was a very fucked up thing, but with the same token, Jigsaw and his traps were a fucked up thing too. A guy that watches people kill themselves, making them become grateful for being alive, that’s one sick fuck.  _ Why are you justifying this? _ He thought to himself, feeling nauseated as he shakes his head, swallowing thickly.  _ No. You can’t eat another human being, no matter how desperate you are. That’s fucked up, man. _ He reminds himself, running his hand through his hair, but the will to survive was becoming too powerful for his morality; he had to live, and in order to live you have to eat. Besides, consuming a small bit shouldn’t kill him, and it’s not like the body was at the fully decayed part yet, judging by the feeling of the skin..

Adam’s stomach growls, resulting in a shooting pain to contort his frame as he utters a few choice curse words, his face scrunched up as he leans his head back against the wall. Fingers splay themselves across his stomach, nails slightly digging into his skin as another groan comes from within him. He had to eat, he’d starve if he didn’t. But could he  _ really _ eat someone? A  _ human _ ? Another push from his stomach and he groans out loud, the sound slightly echoing off the walls. “Fuck it..” He mutters, crawling over to Zep once again.

After feeling around for the man’s jacket zipper, he tugs it down and pulls off the jacket, letting his hands guide him and he feels around Zep’s arm, testing to see if the skin had begun decomposing, and thankfully it hadn’t. Adam began shaking as he sat there, holding Zep’s arm in his hand, trying to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do.  _ You need to eat. You’ll starve if you don’t do this. It’s just like eating an animal….  _ He was trying to coax himself into doing this; he didn’t have to take a lot, just enough to where he’d be able to last a few days before he’d need more.

He brings the arm up to his mouth, his lips parting to reveal his teeth, but before his tongue makes contact with the flesh, he drops the arm and hears it hit the floor with a dull thud, running a shaking hand through his hair as he closes his eyes. “FUCK!” He shouts, listening to his voice bounce back at him from the walls, letting out a noise of frustration as he gently rocks himself back and forth. “I can’t fucking do this. I can’t fucking  _ eat  _ Zep.” He murmurs to himself, shaking his head as he hastily wipes away the tears that start to fill his eyes. Another snarl and dose of pain from his stomach provided a stark reminder at what would happen if he didn’t do this.

Adam takes a few deep breaths, mentally psyching himself up, encouraging himself to just take a few bites and then he’d be done; that's it. He felt sick as he forced himself to pick up the arm again, bringing it up to his lips once more. He was actually glad he couldn’t see anything, it made this just a tiny bit easier to do. After mumbling an apology to Zep, he pulls his lips back and sinks his teeth into the arm, earning the dense chunk of flesh and the taste of thick, coagulated blood to slide onto his tongue, nearly making him gag. Once his teeth refused to sink any further, he began tugging the arm back, struggling a bit with ripping off a chunk of flesh, and once he did, he almost spit it out to throw up the meager contents of his stomach, but he forced himself to chew. His tongue recoiled in horror at the utterly disgusting taste and his face scrunched up as he chews this flesh in his mouth, fighting to keep everything down as he hesitates before swallowing it. A shudder courses through his system as he feels it slide down his throat and on the path to his stomach, his nose running as he takes a few minutes to psych himself up again before he brings the arm back up to his mouth, taking a second, and eventually a third bite.

Once his body told him it had had enough, Adam instantly drops the arm and scurries back over to his corner, his chain rattling and dragging against the floor as he moves. He felt like he was going to be sick, but at the same time his stomach was grateful to have something in it, even if it traumatized him along the way. After several silent moments, Adam completely breaks down, feeling horrified and disgusted with himself at what he’d just done. Broken sobs spill from parted lips as he pulls his knees up to his chest, burying his face into his knees and just letting everything out. What the hell had he done?


	3. The Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: The "death" of a major character is written in this, and it's pretty graphic so please read with this caution!

Once he was sure he was able to keep his newest form of nutrition down, Adam relaxed a little bit and rid his face of the snot and tears that had coated his skin moments ago. He still felt a beat queasy, but he chalked that up to what he’d just done mixed with the breakdown he’d endured. The next important thing on the Basic Needs list was a source of water. Seeing as he’d woken up in a tub full of the stuff, he crawls over to the tub he’d been submerged in and reaches out to twist one of the faucet knobs, praying to anything that exists that water would come gushing out. After a few groans emitted from the pipes surrounding him, warm water began erupting from the faucet, filling Adam with a large sense of relief and nearly bringing him to tears. He leans himself over the edge of the tub, sticking his face beneath the running water with his mouth open, lapping up as much of it as he could, but this ended with him falling into the tub.

He lands on his bad arm and feels the squish of blood oozing out of the wound, coupled with an insurgence of pain shooting from his arm and into his shoulder, making him groan as he lays on his side, unmoving. His face was still beneath the water, so he moved his head away from it, now covering the drain as the water began filling the tub up, soaking his clothes. He stares up into the darkness, listening to the water pound down around him, feeling his clothes become soaked with the warm, almost hot water, which in turn helps his muscles relax. He lets his mind wander a bit, finding that it circled back to Zep and the disgusting act he’d just committed; he knew that he’d have to keep a close eye on that body, as it wouldn’t take long at all for it to start the decomposition process, especially now that there was a giant ass chunk missing from the arm.

He found himself wondering if Zeppelin was being taken care of; despite the cat being a stray, he was normally in the apartment complex, hanging around Adam’s hall, something that pissed off his neighbors, who hated the animal and often claimed it brought in fleas. Adam hadn’t found any on Zeppelin, and his neighbors all hated the photographer so they were likely claiming it so the landlord would remove the cat, thus they could go fuck themselves. One in particular though, an older man that lived across the hall from him and often bitched at him when he got home at night after working late, could go fuck himself. Hell, _he_ should be the one stuck in here, given how much of a dick he was. His name was Will and he worked at the bank, often harboring hatred and despise towards the younger generation, and Adam was his favorite target of harassment. Thankfully nothing had gotten to a physical altercation, just a lot of unnecessary phone calls to the police because Adam’s music was “too loud” or “satanic” and it caused Will “great distress”. If anyone would want that cat out, it’d be him since he made it his life mission to make Adam’s time in that apartment complex an utter hell.

When the water begins to engulf his body, resulting in a ring around his neck, he sits up and hears the drain gulp all of it down, slowly training the tub as he carefully gets out, letting himself fall onto the floor with a wet sound thud. Surprisingly, it wasn’t cold being out of the water, which signalled to him that there either wasn’t any air circulation, it wasn’t turned on, or the heat was on. He forces himself to sit up and scoot along the side of the tub, feeling around for his corner and once he finds it, he settles into it, resting his head against the pipe that was on his right. He lets his eyes close, and soon drifts off again, the warm water having helped put him sleep.

“ _I’ve done it! Shown them to me!” Lawrence pleas, desperation and fear lacing his head as the gunshot still faintly rings in Adam’s ears as he lays there on the floor, unmoving and feeling a burning pain in his arm, feeling the blood as it pours from his arm, his shirt absorbing a lot of it. He hears the screech as it’s opened, hears footsteps and Lawrence’s noises of confusion, next he feels a foot kicking him several times in the stomach, but he doesn’t dare utter a sound. He hears an odd sounding voice fill the room, uttering “You’re too late.” followed by Lawrence asking, “Why?”, and earning a response from the new voice, “It’s the rules.” Adam hears the gun cock and instantly springs into action, wrapping his arms around this man’s legs and yanking him, resulting in his head slamming against the floor with a sickening crack, but Adam doesn’t stop - he crawls on top of him, grabbing his wrists as they squabble, trying to keep the loaded gun out of harm’s way. Instead of Adam successfully killing Zep, like what actually happened, Zep sticks his thumb into the bullet hole on Adam’s arm, making him cry out and loosen his grip, giving the orderly the chance to wrestle his gun out of Adam’s grip. Adam watches as Zep turns around, clicks another bullet into the chamber, and fires directly into Lawrence’s head, triggering a spray of blood, skull and brain matter to shower that side of the room. A horrified, pained scream rips from Adam’s throat as he watches Lawrence’s body fall forward onto the floor, blood leaking from his head and onto the floor, forming a pool of blood that travels through the grout of the floor. Adam’s chest fills with pain, feeling as if his heart had completely shattered as hot tears leak from his eyes and down his cheeks, Zep now forgotten as he tries crawling towards Lawrence, the chain around his ankle holding him back, prompting further sobs to pour from his mouth. “Lawrence! Lawrence, get up! I need you! Please don’t leave me!” He begs, his voice sounding choked as he still tries to reach for the other man, his hand trembling. Zep leaves Adam there, not bothering to kill him seeing as it wasn’t his game, listening to Adam completely break down as he hobbles out of that room, leaving the door wide open, Adam’s screams and cries filling the hallways, causing a chill to run up the ill man’s spine._

Adam flinches, resulting in him waking up to darkness, something he was used to by now, finding his cheeks were wet and his nose was clogged; he had been crying in his sleep. The image of a dead Lawrence still lingered in his mind, making him feel that same pain and striking him with a realisation: Lawrence could very well be dead.


	4. Hallucination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be a little short, as I have something big planned for the next one! Thank you for your support!!

Adam hated that it had taken this long and a damn  _ nightmare _ for the realisation that Lawrence could have fucking bled out in the hallway, killing any acutal chance at his survival, but he couldn’t focus too long on that. He feels another lump form in his throat as tears start to burn his eyes; he was scared, and he missed Lawrence. He didn’t want to die in here, alone and with the body of the  _ innocent  _ man he’d murdered sitting beside him.

Before this stupid game, he’d been living a less than thrilling life; taking photos for clients, getting paid pretty good for the work he did, coming home to his shithole of an apartment, eating a mainly take out, no girlfriend, just a normal, depressing life. He used to hate it so much, but now that there was a good possibility he wasn’t going to come out of this alive, he missed it. He missed Will, the asshole neighbor, his camera, the graffiti covered walls of his apartment, even the constant calls from his parents. He’d taken his life for granted, just as Jigsaw had claimed, and he hated that he was feeling sorry for himself.

To pull himself out of this hole of wallowing, he focuses his thoughts on a _living_ Lawrence and tries to imagine where he was and what he was doing. He pictured the doctor in a hospital, surrounded by other doctors and nurses as they work to stop the bleeding in his leg, reaching up to touch around the bullet wound in his own arm. As expected, he felt slight pain, but his arm was starting to go numb again and it was starting to stink - it didn’t take much for him to know that there was likely pus beginning to form in it, which signaled an infection. He was hoping he wouldn’t lose his arm, as he’d be out of a job if he did.

Yes, he was planning on continuing to photograph, though he’d be switching up what his subjects were. Maybe he could do things like weddings or other big events; those paid really well, and he wouldn’t be spying on people, which would mean that if he survived Jigsaw would have no reason to kidnap him again. He’d clean up his act, change how he did certain things; granted this wasn’t going to completely change his life - he’d still drink, smoke, and be a lil shit, but he wouldn’t take his life for granted any longer. He had actual plans now, plans that could better certain aspects of his life; with a new better paying job he could save up to move out of his apartment and into a better area, leaving Will behind.

Maybe he’d even have a chance at forming a relationship, despite how his last one ended - she ended up cheating and then threatening to file false allegations against him if he didn’t “get the fuck out”; needless to say he left after that. Come to think of it, women had always given him trouble no matter the relationship. There was the Punk Vegan, the Cheating Blonde, the Freaky Red Head, and of course the Crooked Raven. With the Punk Vegan, she’d dumped him because he was the one that was “too angry”, which had confused him to no ends when she dumped him. The Cheating Blonde is self explanatory, and the Freaky Red Head was just too intense for him - fascinated by true crime shit and wanting to fuck serial killers. Crooked Raven had been the one he thought would work out, but he was proven wrong when went and killed her roommate after suffering a mental break.

_What if you aren’t attracted to women anymore._ he heard a voice inside his head say, which sounded suspiciously like Lawrence, making him frown and furrow his brows. He was straight… He’s always been straight. _Think about it, Adam, you’ve been having trouble in the bedroom with them, you don’t feel anything towards them, look at how your relationships fell apart._ This time it wasn’t in his head, it was right in front of him; he was hallucinating that Lawrence was sitting in front of him, dressed in that blue shirt but he had two feet.

“I’ve always been straight, Lawrence. Besides, I’m locked in a fucking bathroom, how the fuck would I suddenly become gay?” He asks, staring at Lawrence with slight anger mixed with confusion. _“You are indeed stuck in a bathroom, but you were stuck in here with ME.”_ “You’re _married_ to a _woman_.” He points out, and Lawrence shrugs, “ _Our marriage was falling apart anyway.”_ “I’m not fucking gay, Lawrence.” He says, sounding a bit hostile now, and Lawrence simply scoffs before vanishing back into Adam’s head. Lawrence wasn’t even here; it was just a hallucination created by his own mind, Adam knew that; then why did his words keep eating at him?...


	5. Amanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attempted murder will be written in this chapter in detail, so please make sure you read with caution!!

Thankfully he wasn’t able to focus on questioning his sexuality thanks to his stomach letting out a growl, signalling it was time to eat once again. He feels a wave of nausea wash over him, but he forces himself to crawl over to Zep’s body and pick up his arm, his fingers curling around the limb. He takes a few deep breaths, preparing himself for what he was about to do before bringing the arm up to his lips, parting them and sinking his teeth into the skin. Just like last time, coagulated blood bursts onto his tongue, making him gag a little bit, but he forces himself to start violently whipping his head back and forth, ripping off another chunk. The flesh was tougher, signalling that the body had begun to enter rigor mortis, but Adam continued to chew even though his jaw had begun to grow sore. Once it was chewed properly, he made himself swallow before plunging back in for another bite, now moving into the upper arm, which was much more challenging. As he sinks his teeth into Zep’s upper arm, he doesn't gag when the thick, gloopy blood falls onto his tongue; he keeps tugging and biting, getting another chunk out and chewing it, finding that it was getting easier to do this. (He didn’t know whether or not that was a good thing or not, but he didn’t want to think too much about it lest he throw up everything he’d consumed).

After eating a good portion of Zep’s upper arm, he moves away, wiping his mouth on his shirt and sits back against the wall, wincing as the shackle around his ankle continues to rub the skin raw. The shackle had yet to draw any blood, but the more he moved the more skin it rubbed against, which meant it was on its way to becoming completely raw and bloodied, something he really didn’t need right now. He starts to rub his leg, hoping that will help to ease some of the pain he was feeling, wishing he could just slip his foot out of it and- Suddenly he freezes, leaning forward a bit more to feel his foot. He could always just break his foot, slip it out of the shackle like that; but would he actually be able to slam something onto his foot hard to break it? Would he mentally be able to mutilate himself? It was one thing to do it to another person, but to himself? He didn’t know if he had the stomach or mental push to do it.

As he was thinking all of this through, Lawrence appeared beside him as another hallucination, making him roll his eyes. “The hell do you want?” He mutters, though he was glad his mind had given him this form of a distraction. _“Something big is going to happen soon; you need to get some sleep.”_ The blond advises, looking at Adam seriously. “What? You’re in my head. What the fuck do I think is going happen?” He asks, brows furrowed in confusion. “ _I have no idea, but you need to save your strength. Don’t waste it on breaking your foot. There’ll be another way to get out._ ” Lawrence responds and Adam suddenly feels anxious. “Don’t.. Don’t leave.” He murmurs, hearing just how scared he sounded, which prompts Lawrence to chuckle, still staying by his side. _“Technically I’m always with you since I’m in your head, but I won’t leave until after you’ve fallen asleep.”_ He explains, and Adam nods, letting his head rest against the tiles as he closes his eyes; it doesn’t take long for him to slip beneath the waters of sleep, his dreams filled with Lawrence yet again.

It wasn’t a nightmare that woke up Adam, nor was it Zep rising from the dead to kill him; it was a _woman_. She was gently shaking him and staying his name, a flashlight shining directly in his face which elicits a groan to come from him followed by a jump as he slowly opens his eyes, his gaze still half asleep. He feels her touch his cheek before he hears the rustling of something in her hands, prompting him to become a bit more alert. Suddenly his vision is slightly fogged as she slips something over his head: a bag. He instantly starts to panic, but tries to hold his breath, now fully awake as he starts to thrash around, his hands flying up to try and pry hers off. He feels the bag enter his mouth as he accidentally tries to suck in a breath, nearly choking and throwing him off course. As his eyes bulge out of his skull, he can see Hallucination Lawrence watching him, his face blurred by the lack of oxygen and bag obscuring his vision, but he could feel the fear seeping into him. He didn’t want to die, not like this, he’d rather bleed out than be suffocated.

Adam holds his breath again and digs deep inside himself for that strength he’d saved thanks to Lawrence’s - err, his own - advice. He launches himself off the wall, causing the woman to lose her grip on him as he lands on his stomach, clawing a hole in the bag and gulping in the stale air of the bathroom, finally able to breathe as he rips the bag off fully. During the struggle, the flashlight had clattered to the floor and rolled off, illuminating the floor of the bathroom along with the two of them. Adam whirls around to face her, hearing her gasp as he crawls towards her, his fingers wrapping around her ankle as she clings to the tub, allowing him to pull himself along her. One he was on top of her, she began thrashing trying to hit him but he grabs her wrists with one hand and grabs a fistful of hair with the other. “NO! PLEASE!” She pleads, eyes wide and full of fear but he ignores her and pulls her head forward before slamming it back on the edge of the tub, hearing a sickening crack as her skull cracked. She screams and tries to get him off of her, but her efforts were futile as he lifts her head to repeat the action, getting another thud from her head. The second hit lifts her dazed, but before Adam can deliver a third blow, she mutters something that catches his attention. “ ‘m Mandy.” She says, her eyes slowly lifting to look at him. He stares down at her as a memory digs itself up from the vault in his mind: he was at his apartment, camera in one hand cigarette in the other, wanting to take a picture of a stoner girl he’d bumped into. She’d said her name was Mandy and that she was camera shy, but the pair had just gotten done discussing some of the music they listened to. “W-why did you try to kill me?..” He asks, keeping his grip on her hair in case she tried anything. “Because I felt bad.” She says, still sounding slightly airy but her response only confuses him further.

“What does that mean?” He asks, but she’d closed her eyes and he could feel blood on the hand wrapped in her hair. “WHAT DOES THAT FUCKING MEAN?” He shouts, removing his hand to violently shake her; unbeknownst to him this was all an act. Amanda was still awake, in fact her hand was slowly inching towards that flashlight and as soon as she felt her fingers wrap around it, her eyes fly open and she lets out a growl, slamming it into Adam’s head. He cries out and falls off her, seeing stars dance across his vision followed by immense pain shooting through his temple as he covers his head with his arms. This allowed Amanda to clamber to her feet before staggering to the door, flicking the light on in an attempt to blind Adam before she made her escape, slamming the door shut behind her, locking him in once again.


	6. Reality Check

The slamming of the door didn’t help the pain in Adam’s head, nor did the sudden burst of light that tried to flood his eyes, which he kept squeezed shut. He was laying on his side in the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his head protectively, blood pooling in his right ear. His head was absolutely pounding in time with his heart beat, and he didn't move for several long moments, needing to wait for the pain to at least lessen a bit before he could move. Once the pain has gone down, he forces himself to sit up and slowly open his eyes, hissing from the pain caused from those bright ass lights, waiting for his vision to adjust. After a few seconds, his vision became clear and he could make out details of the bathroom rather than just fuzzy blobs. The blood from his ear leaked out down the side of his neck, soaking into his nasty smelling shirt, adding to the collection of stains already mounting there.

Dark brown eyes slowly move around the room, seeing if anything had changed; Lawrence’s foot was well into the decomposition process with the chopped off limb turning a grey color with black spots of blood and maggots crawling all over it. The scene alone causes the contents of Adam’s stomach to lurch back up into his throat and somehow he makes it to the toilet, where he vomits everything up. After getting it all out, he slowly sits back on his knees, wiping his mouth off with his arm and feeling his nose start to run. He backs away from the toilet and moves to the tub again, reaching out to turn on the water so he could clean himself off. As the water pounds against the bottom of the tub, he notices a blood on the edge from where he’d slammed Amanda’s head into the side; upon closer inspection Adam saw a piece of blooded skull stuck to the side of the tub with a piece of brown hair attached. Despite everything that was going on, the small notion that he’d actually fucked her head up brought Adam a fleeting moment of joy, even tugging a smile onto his face.

After celebrating that small victory, Adam sticks his hands beneath the warm water, cupping them so he could get some built up before bringing them to his face and splashing the water onto himself, wiping off some of the blood and vomit. He decides to finally look at his arm, since he could actually see now, and ends up ripping his shirt sleeve off, revealing the swollen, green and purple, pus filled wound on his arm. Thankfully he didn’t have anything left in his stomach so he couldn’t vomit again, but the site of his arm deeply disturbed him. It was beyond an infection; it looked like it’d have to be removed since his fingers were slowly turning black. He didn’t feel any pain when he touched it, so he used this to start sticking his fingers into it, searching for the bullet. It was still really wet and felt absolutely disgusting but he had to find it, had to pull it out, so when he felt the heated metal he immediately started to slowly work it out of his arm. This (obviously) resulted in pain, as the bullet brushed against nerves, muscles, and even bone, resulting in his arm twitching as a ballad of curses poured from his mouth.

It took a lot of small movements, an immense amount of pain, and nearly passing out three times but he eventually got the bullet out, his chest heaving and hand trembling as he brought it to his face and studied it. His arm, of course, began bleeding profusely but he knew it wouldn’t kill him since no giant artery had been struck or else he would have died long ago. He slides the bullet into his pocket before moving himself into the bathtub, flexing his toes beneath the faucet of running water before he uses the ripped shirt sleeve to start carefully cleaning off the wound as best he could. It made him feel a little bit better now that he could see and clean off all the dried blood and pus off his arm. After he’d gotten it as clean as he could, he took a few minutes to just lay in the bath, covering the drain with his foot so that the water began to encircle his body. He runs his fingers along his throat, finding that there was a ring of swollen skin that hurt to touch from the bag. His body had been through so much, it was a wonder to him that he hadn’t passed out from exhaustion yet. The human body really did go far past what he thought his limits were.

It was after he’d lowered his hand that Adam realised something: now that he could see, he could look at Zep. He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest as anxiety prickled his scalp as he slowly looked over the edge of the tub and at Zep. What he made all the horror and disgust flood his system as his eyes drank in the site before him: Zep’s body had begun the decomposition process so the parts of flesh that were exposed were a sickly pale grey color with blue veins popping out against the skin, coupled with the missing chunks having blood that looked completely black and caked, not to mention the complete smashed in pound of flesh where the man’s head had been.. As Adam stares at what he’s done, he feels tears build up in his eyes and his heart breaks; what the hell had he become? He was a fucking monster, an animal, just like the person that put him in here.


	7. The Snap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter details attempted suicide, so PLEASE make sure you are in a good place mentally before reading!

_ You’re a fucking animal; Zep was INNOCENT! Killing him wasn’t enough? You deserve to rot in here. _ Endless thoughts flood his mind, making guilt form inside him and promptly begin eating at him, resulting in Adam beginning to sob. He tangles his hands in his hair, tugging on it to refocus his mind, but it wasn’t working. The guilt interlaced with these thoughts kept attacking him, ripping down his defenses as brown eyes ringed with red flick to look at Zep again, introducing a fresh wave of tears to flood his eyes. “I’m sorry, Zep.” He chokes out, pressing his forehead into the side of the tub and squeezing his eyes shut; his body trembles with his sobs, reaching the point of hysterics. His breathing was harsh, choked noises passed through parted lips as he grips his hair even tighter with each wave of tears.

Between the gasps for air and cries, Adam suddenly feels his mind go blank - as if a switch had been flipped - and the tears stop. Unfortunately this moment of peace lasted mere seconds before a wave of anger and panic crashed over him, prompting him to climb out of the tub and hobble over to the lid of the toilet that he’d used to kill Zep, finding there were still a few large chunks of it left. He hastily wipes off his nose, water dripping off his frame and onto the floor beneath him, now finding that he was cold but he ignored it. He was done with all this shit; done with the bathroom, done with the pain, done with waiting for Lawrence - hell he probably either died or just saved himself anyway. As dirtied, bloody fingers curl around a chunk of the porcelain lid, he notices the chunks of hair, brain, skull and dried blood staining the normally pristine white surface, making him spiral even further.

As he lifts the lid up above his head, his breathing growing harsh as more tears build and soon leak from Adam’s eyes, he notices Hallucination Lawrence sitting a few feet across from him, looking him directly in the eyes, concern filling those dark orbs. “ _Adam, listen to me. You don’t want to do this; how are you going to get out with a broken foot? You won’t be able to walk.”_ Lawrence points out, his voice calm and slightly soothing to Adam’s frazzled state as the pair look at each other. “You don’t understand, Lawrence. You’re not stuck in here. You didn’t have to resort to fucking cannibalism. You weren’t almost killed; twice.” Adam responds, his bottom lip trembling as he speaks. “I need to do this; I need to get the fuck out of here. The longer I’m in here, the worse I’ll get.” He continues, his voice breaking as more sobs tumble from his lips. “I mean, you’re a fucking hallucination created by my mind. I’m scared to think what the fuck is going to happen if I get out of here.” He says, sniffling as he wipes his eye with his arm, lifting the piece of porcelain once more. “ _Adam, please. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”_ “WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO, LAWRENCE? JUST FUCKING KEEP WAITING ON YOUR ASS TO GET HERE?” He shouts, his neck flexing as veins press up against his skin, his eyes bloodshot and exhausted. “Cause I don’t think you’re coming.. I think you abandoned me to save yourself or you died.”

Lawrence doesn’t answer, seeing as Adam had no idea what truly happened to the man, and Adam takes that as confirmation that he was about to do the right thing. The exhausted brunet looks down at his foot and brings the slab of porcelain down onto it; he should have felt bone crushing pain, but he felt nothing. Before he’d been able to make contact with his foot, Lawrence had reached out and grabbed his wrist, stunning the photographer. “You can touch me?” He whispers, his attention now on Lawrence, who nods. _“I’m in your mind, don’t get that mixed up, but you’re suffering a mental break. You’ve put yourself so deep into your mind that it created a defense mechanism to help yourself calm down. Hence, me being here and being able to touch you.”_ He explains, and removes his hand to touch Adam’s shoulder, keeping his gaze locked on the other man. Adam stays silent, processing what had just been said to him, but he was distracted by Lawrence moving closer and pulling him into his arms.

_“Why don’t you just relax. I’m right here, not going anywhere. Just get some sleep; you’re exhausted.”_ Lawrence murmurs, holding Adam on his lap and running his hand through brown locks. Adam hesitates at first but slowly begins to relax, feeling just how drained he felt as an eerie calm washed over him. “You won’t go anywhere?” He asks, voice soft. “ _No. I’ll stay right here, Adam.”_ Lawrence says soothingly, continuing to run his hand through Adam’s hair. “ _Just let go. It’ll be over soon.”_ The blond continues, but his words sound weird to Adam; what will be over soon? The sleepy male lifts his head up to look at Lawrence with confusion on his face. “What do you mean ‘It’ll be over soon’? What will be over?” He asks but Lawrence avoids the question and tries to distract him by cupping Adam’s cheek in his hand. “ _It doesn’t matter. Just go to sleep.”_ “No. What the fuck is going on?” He asks, starting to sound scared as he starts crawling off of Lawrence’s lap. It was at that moment that Adam felt a tightness in his chest coupled with a burning throat which forces him to start coughing and choking, his hands flying up to his throat.

_“You’re drowning. After you looked at Zep and saw what you had done, you clogged the drain of the tub and waited until it was full enough to submerge yourself, face down. In order to prevent you from feeling any pain, your mind created an alternate situation. It’s why you’re so tired; you’re losing oxygen. You always told yourself you didn’t want to die alone, so it summoned me so that you wouldn’t be alone, and in the arms of someone that cares for you.”_ He explains and Adam makes a choking noise as tears fill his eyes, which were wide as he looks at Lawrence. He had to wake up; he had to keep living. _WAKE UP! ADAM WAKE UP! DON’T YOU FUCKING DIE!_ He screams at himself, and after several minutes his surroundings dissolve and grow fuzzy before he’s staring at the bottom of the tub, extremely light headed and with burning lungs. He snaps his head back and up, causing water to slosh everywhere as he sputters, struggling to get air back into his waterlogged lungs, throwing up some water in the process. 

Once he’d regained his breath and wasn’t in any danger, he ripped the drain plug out and looked around the room, finding he was once again alone with Zep and Lawrence’s foot. He crawls out of the tub, landing on the floor and moves to his corner, pulling his knees up to his chest. He’d tried to kill himself without even realising it… He’d always thought he didn’t want to die, but today’s actions proved otherwise; he’d gotten so low that he didn’t want to try and bring himself back up, and that terrified him. His mind thinks back to the moment he’d had with the Hallucination Lawrence, thinking about how safe he felt in the other’s arms, how willing he was to just fall asleep with him.. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew deep down that he was gay for Lawrence Gordon.


	8. An Awakening

Adam didn’t know how long it had been since he’d sat down, but his muscles were starting to ache from the position he was in so he forced himself to stretch out, wincing as his stiffened limbs protested by giving him a flare of pain. He quietly groans as he carefully stretches and turns each limb, hoping to loosen them up before standing up, running a hand down his face to brush off any dried tears and snot. He’d taken this time to just sit and think through everything; especially his feelings towards Lawrence. At first, he’d thought he was suffering Stockholm Syndrome since they both endured horror and trauma, but as he thought about it he realised that these feelings had stemmed at an earlier time: when he was tracking and photographing Lawrence. It had truly started the first night Adam had been given the assignment; he’d met with Tapp, taken the payment, and had gone back to his apartment to begin his research.

_He’d just climbed the stairs to his hall and was fishing his keys out of his pocket when he heard a familiar meow, prompting a smile to form on his lips as he looks up and sees Zeppelin sitting outside his apartment patiently waiting for him. “Hey there.” He murmurs, greeting the animal with a pat to its head before he unlocks the door, allowing the cat entry first. After stepping inside after it he shuts the door and locks it before moving into the kitchen and opening the fridge. “How do you feel about chicken noodle soup?” He asks the cat, reaching in to pull out the already opened can and carrying it to the microwave. He pours the remnants from the can and into a bowl, crinkling his nose a bit as he sets it into the microwave for a minute. As the hum of the machine fills the room, Zeppelin jumps onto the counter beside Adam, rubbing up against his arm and he smiles, giving him pets. “I’ll be able to get actual food soon; I was given a nice paycheck for this job.” He promises the animal, scratching behind his ears and earning a purr in response. The microwave dings and Adam opens it, carefully pulling the bowl out of the machine, slightly burning his fingertips in the process before setting it onto the counter. He turns to the drawers directly behind him and opens one, pulling out a spoon before turning back to his food._

_He carries the bowl over to his computer, hearing the soft thud of Zeppelin as he jumps onto the floor and follows him. Once at his computer, he powers it on and begins the agonizingly long wait of the system waking up and booting up, eating his soup as he waits. It tasted like aluminum, but it was food so he didn’t have much to complain about. He does fish a piece of chicken out of the broth and tosses it onto the floor for Zeppelin, who begins eating it and continuing to purr like a motorboat. Once his computer finally boots up after nearly ten minutes, he opens up the internet and begins typing in the person’s name: Lawrence Gordon. A simple Google search brought up quite a few results on a Doctor Lawrence Gordon, an oncologist at the Angel of Mercy Hospital; well respected, good at his job, the normal squeaky clean reputation; pretty boring to Adam. Why did Bob want him to “investigate” this guy anyway? “Zeppelin, I think this client might be a little nuts.” He says to the cat, who was tapping his thigh for more chicken, so he gives him another piece. He starts clicking the different links, reading about this man’s life, his marriage, his daughter, blah blah blah… After a while, Adam sits back and shakes his head, sliding his chair out from under the table and stands up, stretching a bit. He picks up his now empty soup bowl and carries it to the sink, setting it down before shutting off the light and grabbing a beer from his fridge, making his way into his bedroom._

After he’d begun working the assignment, he basically got a look into the doctor’s personal life and just like the research had said it was pretty damn boring, until the third week of surveillance; that was when Lawrence started to change his routine. Instead of leaving the hospital and going straight home, Lawrence began going somewhere else, and Adam hadn’t been able to follow him for a while, but finally the day came he was able to. When he’d arrived at the hotel, it all clicked in his head and Adam got the shots he needed before heading home and developing them, which brings us to where we are now. The moment he actually felt the new emotions towards Lawrence was when he’d been following him on one of his days off; he’d been dressed casually, sunglasses perched atop his head as he drank what appeared to be some type of smoothie, a few buttons undone near the top of his shirt, exposing the blonde chest hair peeking through. It was as Adam was looking through the viewfinder of his camera that he was hit with an attraction to the older man, resulting in him nearly throwing his camera. Moving forward, Adam would shove those emotions down deep into a box and lock it, focusing on the task at hand: getting the shots.

Now, being alone in this bathroom, reflecting on when Lawrence had been in there with him, he felt those emotions flare up again, but heartbreak is the one that stuck out the most to him. Was this some world ending revelation that would ruin his life? No. He was gay for Lawrence and he accepted it; granted once he saw Lawrence again things might be a little awkward but he had no idea how the other would react. Should he even tell him? Or would that freak him out? What would he do if Lawrence rejected him? So many questions that couldn’t be answered anytime soon… Regardless of what Adam didn’t know, the one thing he did know was that he wanted to see Lawrence again and that his heart ached for him. “Lawrence, you better come back..” He murmurs, pulling Zep’s jacket off of him, getting a face full of rotting flesh in the process, which makes him gag. Once the jacket was off and brushed off, he wraps it around his frame, noticing how the article of clothing swallowed him, signalling an alarming weight loss. “Please hurry.” He adds in a soft voice, burrowing into the jacket and sitting back down in his corner.


	9. Lawrence?...

Adam had fallen asleep after the warmth from the jacket had relaxed him, though this time he had no dreams; his body needed to try and recover from everything he’d endured. Zep’s body had begun decomposing so it was inedible, meaning his only food source was gone, he still had water, but the amount of blood he’d lost had built up over time, then throw in the head injury and attempted suicide and Adam was nearing his limit. He was drained physically and mentally, and this may be the only chance he had at trying to store the last bit of strength he had before…

He didn’t know how long he slept for - minutes, hours, days - and he didn’t care; he just wanted to sleep as much as he could now that he was relaxed and warm. Unfortunately for him, the universe had other plans as the sound of what Adam’s mind registered as soft voices stirred him from his sleep, resulting in him slowly opening his eyes and looking at the door, still half asleep. His eyes were closing again even as footsteps were heard racing towards the room, along with someone limping. Adam wanted to see what was going on, who was there, but he was just too tired. Suddenly the door was thrown open, making him jump and force his eyes open, thinking Amanda had come back in. “N-no.” He croaks, curling into himself and hiding his face in the jacket as someone mutters, “What the fuck happened here?...” followed by several sets of footsteps entering the room. Adam lifts his head up, body trembling as he blinks to get his eyes to focus; there were four SWAT team members in the room, cautiously looking around, making faces of disgust at the scent of death, weapons raised. Adam feels his heart slip into his throat as it begins to pound and pure hope mixed with relief washes over him, making tears fill his eyes. “Shit, he’s still alive!” One of the men calls out, running towards Adam, who was sobbing loudly by this point, reaching out for the man, who grips his good shoulder, horror all over his face as he looks at the bloody man chained to the pipe.

“Adam?” A voice calls out, the sound of someone limping quickening; Adam didn’t need to see who it was, he’d memorized that voice long ago. “Lawrence.” He calls back, his voice breaking and more tears seep from his eyes, blurring his vision as Lawrence appears in his line of sight. Adam instantly tries to stand up, limping towards Lawrence as far as his chain would let him, arms outstretched towards the doctor, who hurries over to him and pulls him into a tight hug. Adam lets himself breakdown in that moment; he lets all of the fear and anxiety melt away as he grips Lawrence as tightly as he can, breathing in the other’s scent, feeling his arms around him. Adam chokes out another sob, crying even harder as he fists Lawrence’s shirt, trembling like a leaf. Lawrence pulls back after several silent moments, the only sound being Adam’s crying before the brunet tries to pull himself together. “You came back.” He murmurs and Lawrence smiles, nodding as he cups Adam’s cheek in his hand; “I told you I wouldn’t lie to you. I’m just glad we got here in time.” The doctor responds, his voice soft as tears of his own slip down his cheeks. Truth be told, Lawrence had been worried about Adam, and after the stunt that Amanda tried to pull, that worry had turned into panic which prompted John to let the doctor go save the other man.

Speaking of John, Lawrence knew he’d have to keep that part of his life a secret from Adam for as long as he could. He couldn’t tell him that he was now working for the man that had put them in here, the man that had nearly killed Adam. “Can you get the chain off?” He asks one of the SWAT guys, who crouches down to examine the chain, giving a nod. “Yeah, we should be able to. Have to get the right tool out of the van.” the man responds before jogging out of the room. Lawrence still had his arms around Adam, and the three other SWAT guys were too busy examining the room to listen to the pair, so he uses this opportunity to admit his feelings. “Lawrence.” He says, drawing the other’s attention after managing to calm down again. “I.. I think.. I have feelings for you…” He says, stammering slightly and watches Lawrence as he takes this news with surprise, his cheeks turning pink as he clears his throat. “Is this really the time to be doing this, Adam?” He asks quietly, resulting in Adam’s heart shattering; he withdraws from Lawrence, shutting down a bit as he sits down on the floor again. “Right… Sorry…” He mutters, studying Lawrence’s new foot and the cane he carried, keeping his eyes off the other man. 

The SWAT guy comes back with what looks to be a chainsaw and crouches down next to Adam, picking up his ankle and apologising when Adam flinches. “Stay really still.” He says and turns on the device, which wasn’t a chainsaw at all; it was a laser. Adam stiffens and doesn’t move an inch the entire time that thing was on, watching as the cuff around his ankle was cut in half before falling to the floor in two pieces, revealing the skin beneath it which was red and raw with dried blood caked around it. “Shit.” The guy says, shaking his head before standing up straight and stepping away to phone dispatch, requesting a stretcher be brought in ASAP. Adam stays on the floor, still wrapped in Zep’s jacket, staring at the floor despite feeling Lawrence’s gaze on him. When the stretcher is brought in, the paramedics help him onto it and immediately begin examining his other wounds, with one of the SWAT guys and Adam vomiting at the sight of his arm. As he’s carried out, after an IV has been inserted, the remaining men look at Zep’s body, seeing the chunks missing as a grim realisation crosses their minds.

The doors to the ambulance are opened and Adam is carefully pushed inside, but before the doors could close Lawrence climbs in and sits beside his ally, staying quiet. Adam is shocked by this action, but he focuses his attention on answering the paramedic’s questions, explaining what had happened to him, and soon finding out that he was pretty well known now thanks to the coverage of the Jigsaw case. Once the questioning was done, Adam rests his head on the pillow, body jostling around with the bumps in the road, staring at the ceiling of the ambulance. He wanted to sleep, but he was terrified that this was another hallucination and that he’d wake up in the bathroom, but he feels someone gently take his hand and he looks over, seeing it was Lawrence. The normally pristine doctor looked anguished as he held Adam’s hand, running his thumb over the bloodied knuckles, looking over to lock eyes with the brunet. Adam didn’t want him to say anything; didn’t want him to start apologising or explaining why he took so long to come back because it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he _did_ come back, he was here, he saved him just like he said he would. He gently squeezes the doctor’s hand before letting his eyes close, the smoothing out of the road combined with Lawrence’s thumb lulled Adam to sleep; one of the most peaceful sleeps he’d had since waking up in the bathroom. He felt safe and all of the fear and anxiety that had plagued him in that room was left at the door, he could rest and start recovering with Lawrence by his side.


	10. Epilogue

Six months. Six months since Adam was rescued, since the nightmare he’d endured ended. After arriving at the hospital, he’d immediately been taken back into surgery where his arm was dealt with and unfortunately they’d had to amputate his arm; the infection had gotten so bad that it’d killed a majority of the nerves in his arm. They’d also tended to his other injuries, and started him on a diet that slowly brought him back to a good weight and health, and of course he’d been put into intense talk therapy. 

He wasn’t told how long he’d been in there until the doctors and his therapist thought he had recovered enough to handle it, and when they finally told him it felt like he was punched in the stomach. “ _ You were in there for three months, Adam. We’re not sure how you managed to survive that long. _ ” The doctor’s words had been in his head the rest of the time he’d been in the hospital, creating a sort of pit in his stomach that felt bottomless and it’s where he stored the anxiety and fear brought on by his trauma. Lawrence was often asked to join Adam’s therapy sessions, as he was the root of everything that had happened, and when confronted on why he’d taken so long to get back to the bathroom, the doctor would always revert back to his condition at that time: a missing foot and bleeding out coupled with a lengthy recovery process. It was during these sessions that Adam had got the feeling that the older man was hiding something from him, but he never pushed, unsure of if he’d actually want to hear it or be able to handle it.

Now, two months after being discharged from the hospital, Adam was living a better life than he previously had; he was still able to keep his job as a photographer thanks to he and Lawrence getting custom equipment made for him, he’d moved out of his apartment with Zeppelin and was now living in a much better place, and he was making great progress in his therapy. Lawrence had been by his side every step of the way, and while he was still in the hospital the blond had started preparing his current home to move Adam in. Adam wasn’t aware of the doctor’s plan until after he’d been discharged, when he’d been taken to Lawrence’s home to find his things there, waiting for him. Up until this point, Lawrence had tried to apologise several times but Adam never wanted to hear it, he always thought actions spoke louder than words, and Lawrence’s support had been enough for him to know that the man felt terrible about what he’d done.

One morning, Adam woke up to the sound of rain pounding against the window and an empty bed, meaning Lawrence must have gotten up earlier. The pair had been sharing a bed ever since Adam arrived; the man couldn’t sleep alone due to anxiety attacks and nightmares, so he’d moved himself into Lawrence’s bed, and the doctor didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Lawrence Gordon had seemed pleased about Adam sleeping in his bed, and even went as far as to hold him during the night to help him relax. There was a chemistry and connection between the pair, but they were both nervous about venturing into this new territory that they were taking it slow. Cuddles on the sofa, cuddles in bed, Adam wrapping his arms around Lawrence as he cooked, little moments of a hand brushing against the other’s and frequent “Are you okay?”s being asked basically formed their relationship, but the L word hadn’t been spoken, nor had any kisses been exchanged. Both were content like this and neither of them wanted to rush into anything.

Adam sits up and rubs his eyes, his hair sticking up all over the place as he slides out of the bed and pads out of the room into the hallway. Bare feet slightly tense up at the freezing wood beneath them but he continues walking, still a bit groggy as he walks into the kitchen, spying Lawrence cooking breakfast. As was custom in the mornings, Adam walks over to the other and wraps his arm around his waist, resting his cheek against Lawrence’s back, which earns him a chuckle and one of Lawrence’s hands rests on Adam’s. “Good morning. How did you sleep?” the doctor asks, voice soft as he continues stirring the eggs he had in a pan. “Mm. I slept well, but I’m still sleepy.” Adam murmurs, closing his eyes as he nuzzles the man’s back. “You just need to wake up a bit more is all. Good thing I’m almost done making breakfast. Go sit at the table and I’ll be there shortly.” Lawrence says and Adam hesitates before pulling away to sit, being greeted by Zeppelin, who jumps up onto the table and head butts him.

Once the food is ready, Lawrence plates it and brings it over along with a cup of coffee for himself and juice for Adam. Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast, bacon, and fruit; simple yet filling. Both men begin to eat, and once Adam was enjoying Lawrence’s cooking, finding that everything tasted perfect. “What do you want to do today? I took the day off work.” Lawrence says as he stabs some eggs onto his fork before popping them into his mouth, looking up at Adam. “I have some photos to develop today, which will take a while, but I don’t mind if you want to sit in there with me.” The photographer says, and Lawrence nods, offering a smile. They fall into a comfortable silence as they eat, and once the food is gone Adam gets up and helps Lawrence do the dishes, setting them on the drying rack to dry before heading into the back of the house where his Dark Room was located.

He opens the door and steps inside with Lawrence following, moving over to the stack of photos that had yet to be developed, hearing Lawrence sit down in the chair they’d put in there for him. This photo set was from a wedding he’d shot, and as he began putting the first few images into the liquid, he was pretty pleased with how they turned out. He leans his hip against the table, waiting for the photos to develop, letting his eyes move to study Lawrence, who was looking at some of the previously developed photos, some of which were of him and Adam. As he studies the man, looking at every little detail of him, he feels something stir within him; something warm, something that he has to say right now. “Hey, Lawrence?” Adam blurts, causing the man to look over curiously. “Yes?” “I love you.” Three little words; three little words that held so much meaning; three little words that caught Lawrence off guard. He blinks, hearing what Adam had just said echo in his mind, causing a wave of warmth and joy to crash over him and he locks eyes with Adam once again, a smile forming on his lips. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.  
> I want to thank everyone for joining me on this journey, and for the wonderful support I have recieved while writing this. Adam means a lot to me personally, so I wanted to give him the happy ending he deserves. Thank you for reading!


End file.
